Reviews of later summer DVD releases

After the extensive article produced on summer DVD releases was sent to press, there were some additional titles that have since come out, and The Sentinel has decided to provide you with additional online review material. Enjoy and we will see you back on campus later this month.


Final Destination 2

- For those who missed the first film, Final Destination 2 picks up where the first one leaves off, and Death is looking for vengeance and the opportunity to tie up loose ends. Clear Rivers, played by Ali Larter, is the only survivor from the first movie, and now she has voluntarily locked herself away in a mental institute. The surprise of this film is the twisted humor intermingled with the gory ways to die. Fans of the Scream trilogy and/or The Nightmare on Elm Street series will like this film.

- As an Infinifilm there are a lot of extras on the DVD. A cool feature of Infinifilm is that the extras can be watched all together in sequence, or a viewed through the film as an interactive feature. Things provided with Final Destination 2 include three documentaries, deleted and alternate scenes, theatrical trailers, two music videos, a trivia track, behind-the-scenes featurette and DVD-ROM features.

GRADE: B+ (movie) A+ (disc)

Daredevil
- Based on the Marvel comic book, this movie follows the story of a blind attorney who has no fear, and his effort to protect his home of Hell’s Kitchen from the ruthless rule of Kingpin. The film also introduces the characters Bullseye and Elektra. The story is told like a highlight reel, and it is hard to invest empathy for anybody in this story. It is harder if a viewer never read the comic book, because there is a lot of back story missing from the screen.

- It is a two-disc edition, and the extras include commentary, behind-the-scenes features, trivia, DVD-ROM material, documentaries, featurettes and music videos.

GRADE: C (movie) B (disc)

Solaris
- As described on the Fox Home Entertainment site, www.foxhome.com, Solaris is a sci-fi thriller. Aboard a lonely space station orbiting a mysterious planet, terrified crew members are experiencing a host of strange phenomena, including eerie visitors who seem all too human. When psychologist Chris Kelvin (Clooney) arrives to investigate, he confronts a power beyond imagining that could hold the key to mankind's deepest dreams…or darkest nightmares.
The description given by the Web site is enough to merit a review, but fans of Clooney, director Steve Soderbergh (Traffic), producer James Cameron (Terminator, Titanic) will be disappointed by the vague blandness of this film. Viewers who missed ANY description of the movie will be confused for the first thirty minutes, because there is not any real exposition to help set the story up.
Once Clooney’s character does arrive on the ship, there is a sense of gloom and foreboding, but it is hollow and never fulfills the promise of being scared or even mildly spooked out. The film provides lots of dialogue, but it falls very short on action or even exciting conversation.
- The redeeming factor for Solaris is that the DVD does provide a lot of extras, including commentary, a featurette and an HBO “Making of Solaris” special. For those who have not seen Solaris, the recommendation is to rent it for the extra features, but do not bother buying it for a personal collection.

GRADE: D (movie) B (disc)